Trial Purpose:
To evaluate the effectiveness of five TCE alternatives at removing lubricants from aluminum alloys.
Date Run:
07/12/2017Experiment Procedure:
Preweighed aluminum coupons were tested for each cleaner. Coupons were soiled with Accu-Lube LB 6000 Lubricant (CAS 68583-51-7) using a swab to cover the bottom third of the substrate and dirty weights were recorded. Coupons were immersed, three at a time, in a beaker with 200ml of the chosen cleaner at room temperature (68 F) for five minutes. Visual observations were taken during this time, and final weights were recorded after cleaning.This process was repeated for each cleaner.
Trial Results:
| Cleaner | Initial wt. | Final wt. | % Removed | Average % Removed |
| Fluosolv CX | ||||
| 0.0666 | 0.0008 | 98.8 | 98.41 | |
| 0.0969 | 0.0022 | 97.73 | ||
| 0.1398 | 0.0018 | 98.71 | ||
| Fluosolv NC | ||||
| 0.1278 | 0.0013 | 98.98 | 95.44 | |
| 0.1311 | 0.0083 | 93.67 | ||
| 0.1311 | 0.0083 | 93.67 | ||
| Solstice PF | ||||
| 0.0958 | 0.0001 | 99.9 | 99.69 | |
| 0.108 | 0.0005 | 99.54 | ||
| 0.1088 | 0.0004 | 99.63 | ||
| Solstice PF-2A | ||||
| 0.0897 | -0.0013 | 101.45 | 99.85 | |
| 0.0825 | 0.0007 | 99.15 | ||
| 0.0658 | 0.0007 | 98.94 | ||
| Vertrel Sion | ||||
| 0.1184 | 0.0043 | 96.37 | 96.39 | |
| 0.0825 | 0.0053 | 93.58 | ||
| 0.1154 | 0.0009 | 99.22 |
Cleaners visually performed the same and removed a majority of the soil.
Success Rating:
Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.Conclusion:
All five drop-in solvents were effective at removing lubricant from aluminum. Next step is to repeat this procedure on Blasocut 2000 Universal.
